Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers appear to be headed towards a divorce in the near future. This week, reports broke about the team voiding his guaranteed money due to actions from the star wide receiver.
So far this season, Aiyuk has been unable to play for the 49ers. He has been sidelined as he continues to recover from the torn ACL that he suffered last season. At this point in the year, it seems very possible that the wideout will miss the entire season.
According to a report from The Athletic, San Francisco voided his guaranteed money for the 2026 season due to him not meeting requirements in the deal.
In the past, the two parties have been at odds. They were able to work through those issues to get a new deal done, but this development makes it likely that a parting of ways is in the near future.
With that being said, head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed that he has known about the situation for months. He spoke out and weighed in with his thoughts about the ugly situation between the two parties.
"I know everyone got a lot of information [on November 21]; that was information that I found out in July and kind of dealt with it then," Shanahan said. "And to me, the contract stuff and guarantees and things like that is really irrelevant to my relationship with the player and my relationship with our team and what we're trying to do this year. I know I went through that stuff and talked to him a lot about it back in July. But since July, it's been all about this season and hoping he would get healthy, and he's been working to get healthy, and I've been waiting for him to come back when he's healthy."
If Aiyuk’s time with the 49ers has truly come to an end, he will finish his tenure with the team having racked up 294 receptions for 4,305 yards, and 25 touchdowns. He was never quite able to live up to his full potential.
At 27 years old, Aiyuk still has plenty of time left in his playing career. There are a lot of teams around the NFL who would love a chance to bring in a player with the talent that Aiyuk possesses.
No one knows exactly what the final decision between San Francisco and Aiyuk will be. It’s expected that the 49ers will release him, but no final decision has been made yet.
Expect to hear more news about Aiyuk in the near future. For now, it seems that he’ll be looking for a new home following the 2025 NFL season.
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